(a) Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a method of updating software for a vehicle. More particularly, it relates to a method capable of easily updating software of a telematics unit or a navigation device in a vehicle.
(b) Background Art
Telematics, which is a compound of “telecommunication” and “informatics”, refers commonly to a technique of transmitting, receiving and storing various kinds of information using location information and a wireless communication network. Recently, telematics have been implemented by integrating a navigation system using GPS (Global Positioning System) techniques with a mobile communication system and then applying the integrated system to a vehicle. For example, by integrating a GPS and a GIS (Geographic Information System) in a vehicle, the driver may be guided or informed of traffic information in real time through a telematics unit, a mobile telephone, a smart phone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or the like, in the vehicle.
In addition, telematics systems (or TMS (Telematics Management System)) have been used in various fields in connection with a GPS, mobile communication, and the Internet, such as a fault diagnosis of electrical/mechanical components installed in a vehicle, a remote vehicle diagnosis using information on the state of a vehicle, vehicle control, a vehicle accident or theft occurrence sensing, communication between a telematics center and a vehicle or vehicles, an intelligent traffic system, an emergency rescue service, Internet, multimedia service for providing a moving picture, movies or a game, or an interface between human and a vehicle. For example, the information on the state of a vehicle includes a vehicle error code obtained through an electronic control device in a vehicle, a vehicle speed, engine RPM, coolant temperature, data collected through various kinds of sensors in a vehicle, and the like.
The telematics unit of a vehicle can collect such information on a vehicle state and transmit the information to a telematics center. A server of the telematics center, which receives the information from the telematics unit, can provide service information obtained through a sequence of processes of processing information to the telematics unit of the vehicle. For example, when trouble or an accident occurs in a vehicle, the telematics unit transmits the diagnosed vehicle state information, the location information, and information on an image photographed through a camera to the server of the telematics center, and receives accident countermeasure information, emergency rescue service, and road traffic situation information service from the server of the telematics center.
Meanwhile, in order to update software of a vehicle terminal, such as navigation software of a navigation device, an update file is typically downloaded using a PC onto a storage medium, such as a USB memory or an SD card. To this end, the PC should be plugged-in to the navigation terminal in order to update the software of the navigation terminal. Problematically, this requires cumbersome work including accessing the server that provides an update file, downloading the update file to the USB memory or SD card, and connecting the USB memory or SD card to the vehicle terminal. In addition, the software update operation can be performed in a PC-access environment to download the update file.
Thus, there are many cases that the driver of a vehicle does not update the software of a vehicle at the proper time due to the inconveniences described above, and thus the previous version software is continuously used, although an update is available, such that exact information, in the case of a navigation system, is not provided to the driver.